Cat Scratch Fever
by Archaic Raven
Summary: Kagome's odd dream takes a turn into reality. rated for later chapters.
1. Prologue :: The Dream Cave

**A/N: With so much help from Gemini (author of "Lost Radiance") this story was made possible. Thank you, Chrissy!! ^.^ I also want to thank Deanne for all her help on brainstorming some of the plotlines. This is for you both. And it's also for Coin, too. ^.^ 

O yeah, and you can also find this fic on kiwibox.com, under the user name of "Archaic_Raven" and on livejournal.com under the name of "GlitterKiss82" If you want to archive this, email me at SilentMewings@aol.com**

Cat Scratch Fever

An Inu Yasha Fanfiction

By: Laura Bishop

:: Prologue ::

~ The Dream Cave ~

__

The cave was very dark and foreboding, giving off an aura of malice that wasn't often felt in pure nature. It wasn't the first cavern Kagome'd been in that'd felt so . . . but this one was by far the creepiest. This was the first one where she'd ever been completely alone, so alone that she'd felt it. It didn't feel right at all. Still, she continued on her way through the cave's narrow corridors, finding her way eventually to the bowels. Once there at the deepest point, she found herself suddenly lost in darkness – staying still for a moment in complete fear. . . and then she began to see again. A bright streak of light had appeared, as if born from the darkness itself. Approaching it, a little hope filled her heart – and slowly, she watched the streak grow to a sliver in the rocky wall. Kagome, strangely curious of what was hidden beyond this teasing rip in the rocks, looked through the sliver and into a cavernous room which was apparently blocked off on purpose. In the middle of the room was a glowing piece of ice or clear crystal – she could not be sure of which – and in that sparkling hold was a woman. A young woman with long, ebony black hair which was gently streaked in various shades of purple. Dressed in a shimmering kimono of dark shades that brought to mind the winter months; her skin was very pale, her features lovely and rather feline. She had cat ears as well, black ones that nearly blended with her hair. In her elegant little hands was a sword that looked to be forged from obsidian – though blood seemed to be flowing alive inside of it's ebony veins. 

Kagome gasped to see the woman in all her glory trapped therein, and then suddenly she found herself in the room that held that dazzling cage. It was ice, she realized, moving in slowly – unaware that she had just been sucked through a tiny sliver in solid rock. Kagome examined the ice, noting that it was slowly melting. And just as Kagome let that cross her mind, a bit of movement from the young woman trapped inside the ice made her glance up. The woman was staring at her, and there was little kindness in those azure blue eyes! 

"Thank you, Kagome . . ." A cold, feminine voice whispered her name, shaking some of the ice to fall in slivers around her. Inside the ice cage, the woman began to move in earnest. She stretched out a hand to the trespasser near her prison. "Kagome . . ."

"Kagome, wake up would you?!" The voice of her friend Sango broke through the menacing dream, bringing the one called into consciousness. Coming to slowly, Kagome found that she was standing up already – obviously having walked half way to the door of the little room where they were lodging that evening. Beside her, Sango was watching her with concerned eyes. "You were sleep walking again. This is the third night in a row! Are you well?" 

"I'm okay, Sango-chan. It's just that odd dream again. I – I can't really remember it at all." Kagome stated, her voice low and almost sad at the thought. "It was a lovely dream, though. At least, I think it was . . ."

"Feh, if it makes you whimper like that at the end, it doesn't sound so lovely to me. . ." The voice of InuYasha broke into the two girl's conversation. He'd been standing in the doorway for a few seconds, listening. 

"And who asked you?" Kagome blew his opinion off, making him give a little growl of disdain her way. She turned to look at him, getting ready to give a sharp reply in turn for the growl – but Sango cut her off before she could.

"Well, let's all go back to sleep. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I surely remember how tired I was ten seconds ago." She stretched and yawned, smiling a little at her two ever arguing friends. "Besides, we haven't woken up Miroku or Shippou and I don't think we should try to –because such miracles rarely happen." 

Of course, that little bit of peacemaking didn't work at all, as Kagome and InuYasha always found a way to make mountains out of molehills and of course they _had _to have an audience when they did . . . as if they were small children making the discovery of a new talent.

__

Meanwhile. . .

Not so far away, in a cave masked in a tightly woven assembly of spells, the ice cage sat waiting behind it's rock wall. The woman (who was a NekoYoukai) in the ice stood waiting silently, her eyes open as wide as in Kagome's dream, as the ice holding her captive continued to melt. The warmth of the girl's soul had started the process along nicely two nights prior, and would not be needed but for one more evening . . . and then the prisoner inside would be free and Kagome would never know the hand she had played in gaining that freedom. 

The woman studied the cavern she was in slowly, remembering it's every detail as she did. _This place has not changed at all_, she thought to herself. _But then, I didn't expect it to_. A smile spread over the frozen face, bright blue eyes narrowing behind the slowly melting ice. _Sesshoumaru, can you hear me? Leiko is coming . . ._


	2. Part One :: The Nameless Ones

:: Part One ::

~ The Nameless Ones ~

There were no more odd dreams that evening for Kagome. Instead, she and the others had been drawn away from their very temporary dwelling by a group of very strange youkai gathering in the skies over the village nearby. For half the night, the demons hovered – some drifting towards the forest, others practically bouncing off the roofs of the village below. They did no harm to any of the mortals – nor did they seem to notice the small band of potential adversaries led by a Hanyou. 

"Are they waiting for something?" Kagome asked out loud – not really expecting an answer as she and the others watched and waited for the demons to actually do something. The villagers had fled their homes, and were off huddled in the safety of a cave while their would-be protectors remained unprovoked. 

"It seems as if they are, but what could it be?" Miroku was the one who replied to the rhetorical question. 

"Whatever it is, it can't be good." InuYasha stated, his golden eyes narrowing as he continued. "This is very near the border of Sesshoumaru's lands. Whatever it is they're up to, I'm sure he'll know about it soon." 

"So we should be expecting company?" Miroku deadpanned, receiving a grim nod from InuYasha.

"That's comforting." Sango's sarcasm cut into the conversation. Then, she glanced up at the collection of wind dancing youkai. "Wait. . ."

"What is it Sango?" Kagome questioned.

"I recognize what they are now . . . but. . ."

"But what already?" InuYasha was as impatient as usual.

"They shouldn't be around anymore. My Father told me about them once – when I was rather young. Those things aren't really demons at all – they're the servants of one. And she's been dead for almost a century now." 

"So they're like Kikyou's . . ." Shippou began a comparison that never found an end in his voice.

"No, not at all. They aren't anything that has ever been mortal – or otherwise. In fact, they really don't have a name – or if they ever had, it's been lost for a century. However, they've always been said to gather when their Mistress rises and then disperse when she no longer needs them." Sango explained the old lesson as she remembered it. "In fact, they say that she made them from ice and air."

"How did she die?" Kagome asked, her eyes becoming a bit unfocused for a second. No one seemed to notice.

"Yeah – and who is she, anyway?" InuYasha added. He glared as Sango shrugged.

"I never learned her name, or the details of her death. I think I fell asleep before I heard the end of the story." She stated, ruining the would be lesson. The others shot her annoyed glances, and then continued to watch the nameless spirits that rallied in the air. 

__

Not so very far away . . .

A pair of narrowed, glowing eyes watched as the spirits whistled through the air to gather at some place beyond the forest. A heart beat drummed quickly with excitement, relief and astonishment_. She's close and alive,_ they _wouldn't be awake if she weren't_! The woman thinking this passed close to the edge of a pond, her moon made reflection shimmering on the dark water as she went. Midnight black hair complemented snowy skin, falling past thin shoulders to blend into a tight fitting gown that she'd fashioned herself. She was not a tall woman, but she was rather athletic, as well as curvy. Her ears were black, and a bit fluffier than her ice enclosed sister's. So was her tail (for that matter), which swished happily behind her even as she crept along with silent footsteps. Her name was Sakura, and she was a demoness – more to the point, she was of a rare breed of NekoYoukai – thought just yesterday to be the very last of her kind. The spirits in the air told her that was false, but then – she had never doubted that her older sister was alive, just out of reach . . . no matter what anyone 'bonded' to Leiko may have said. Upon that thought, her eyes narrowed further. _Yes, Sesshoumaru dear, you were wrong! How does it feel, great and mighty one? Do you see them there in the sky now? They are the evidence that my sister is not dead, you great Lord of Fools! _

Sakura continued on her path, following beneath the flow of spirits that gathered to greet her sister – cursing Sesshoumaru as she went.


	3. Part Two :: Thawed

::Part Two::

~ Thawed ~

He sensed them before he saw them – and had almost not believed they were real. The day was drawing to a close, and Sesshoumaru had watched the spirits since arriving on his border lands. They had began their rally early the previous evening, when he'd been far away from his lands – and now, he was just arriving here with his curiosity and his hope – waiting for both to be crushed – knowing that it would all somehow be false, that it would be another farfetched and wishful dream – a strange, wonderful dream that was doomed to end as it always did. He really thought that he would awaken at any moment, that he would see Rin playing nearby and Jaken would begin annoying him with something or other. But he did not, and Sesshoumaru waited and watched with the other witnesses to the spectacle in the sky. 

For a century he had mourned her in his heart, ridiculed by her younger sister (who searched fruitlessly) that he did not look for her as well. . . That he let her go unavenged, even though he killed the wretch who made Leiko disappear completely from the landscape – Sesshoumaru had not even been able to catch her scent after she was hit by that witch's concoction of spells. There had been nothing, not a trace . . . And he had grown so cold after it all. . . That human witch who'd stolen his mate from him a century ago, that witch had paid dearly for such a crime – as had her kin and their village. But Leiko had remained veiled in mystery, and he had convinced himself that she had died nobly, as well as completely – and that was all he could even do to console himself of her lost soul. But there were those times when the dreams took him, and he saw her beautiful face once more, when he felt her strong yet ever gentle presence – as if she had never left his side, like she'd promised so long ago. 

But dreams were all he had of her . . . and now this strange phenomenon. . . . 

Then his feral golden eyes narrowed as several unsanctioned scents caught his attention. A growl escaped him, and he was gone from his watching post at top speed.

__

Dreaming Nearby . . .

Kagome had not meant to fall asleep – but not meaning to was never the perfect prevention system. Curled near InuYasha, who was too busy watching the gathered spirits over the village to notice her at the moment, she let her eyes slowly shut. . .

__

As if it had been waiting for her, the rocky walls of the closed off cave room formed around her in seconds. The woman in the ice was still encased, but not so heavily now – and the cave floor was a shallow pool of eerily lit water. As she took these things in, Kagome began to grow cold – ever so cold. . . and the ice caging the woman began to melt faster, faster, faster. . . It wouldn't be long until the ice was water, and the woman was free to go her way. The water. . . the water was rising faster than the ice was melting . . . Kagome, still shaking, climbed up on a rock that was higher than the others. . . one that she had just then noticed (oddly enough). Situated, her eyes went to the woman in the then very thin ice. She was smiling at Kagome, not threateningly or anything – but almost thankfully. And then the thin ice cracked, shattering into the water and making it splash in a thousand directions. The woman was free! As she came from the ice, her long, black tail – somehow sleek and fluffy at the same time – came out of hiding to curl and sway prettily behind her. The wielded sword was returned to it's sheath and the woman turned those cold blue eyes upon Kagome. Despite the fact that she was short, the female youkai had a very commanding presence. 

_"Thank you, young Miko. The co-operation on your part was very kind. Your warmth will return to you soon. I apologize for any weakness you may experience until then." The woman stated. She reached her hand out to Kagome, who studied the sharp little claws as they neared her face. The smooth, cold hand took the girl's chin gently. "We who know painful love must always do what we can to help one another." The youkai smiled again . . . _

And Kagome's eyes flew open in time to see the spirits over head fly off from their post over the village into the forest nearby – heading towards the general location of their camp. 

"We need to follow them now!" She cried, coming to with little trouble though fatigue weighed heavily upon her. "Quickly!"

****

A/N: Yeah, that was really short. Sorry! More asap! Please tell me what ya think ^.^


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